WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Friday it would be "wonderful" and "fabulous" if Iraq turned out like Afghanistan where the ruling regime was toppled.

"Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing if Iraq were similar to Afghanistan?" Rumsfeld said at a Pentagon briefing.

"If a bad regime was thrown out, people were liberated, food could come in, borders could be opened, repression could stop, prisons could be opened," he said. "It would be fabulous."

There has been mounting speculation that the United States was planning to attack Iraq to oust President Saddam Hussein and accomplish its policy of seeking "regime change" in Baghdad. The United States says Iraq is a threat because it is developing biological, chemical and nuclear weapons.

Afghanistan was a "model" of what could happen if a country were "liberated," Rumsfeld said. "It is a breathtaking accomplishment."

The U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan started with bombing Taliban and al Qaeda targets last October, and succeeded in toppling the ruling Taliban.

The United States blames Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network, who were operating in Afghanistan as guests of the Taliban, for the Sept. 11 attacks on America that killed more than 3,000 people.

"Now, of course one worries about what will follow" in Iraq if the current regime was gone, Rumsfeld said.

"We worried about it in Afghanistan and we still are. We are still anxious to see that government put in place by the Afghan people find its sea legs and start getting some support from the rest of the world," he said.

That will take time and effort to accomplish and in the meantime "it's kind of untidy," Rumsfeld said.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld answers a reporters question as General Richard Myers looking on during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, August 9, 2002. Rumsfeld said that the U.S. would be a part of any nation building after a change of governments in Iraq. REUTERS/William Philpott U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld answers a reporters question as General Richard Myers looks on during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, August 9, 2002. Rumsfeld said that the U.S. would be a part of any nation building after a change of governments in Iraq. REUTERS/William Philpott

Indeed, it would be wonderful. But to me there are two very big differences between Iraq and Afghanistan. Weapons of mass destruction, and missiles that can reach Israel. Hopefully some of those troops willing to turn on Saddam Insane will be the ones in charge of those awful weapons.

The radar isn't required to launch SCUDs. It's a fire-and-forget weapon, controlled by internal systems. Our jammers do give their surface-to-air missiles fits, but not nearly as much as our HARM missiles fired in return do. :-)

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